Oatmeal Fudge Bars

My mom asked me to make dessert yesterday to eat after we had Dad's famous ribs for dinner. After Dad's ribs, the dessert has to be amazing or it won't be remembered! These bars were pretty sensational, if I may say so myself. They are very rich, so an 8x8 pan could easily make 16 small servings. But we are a gluttonous family, so I cut mine into 12 pieces. The crispy, crunchy oat crust/topping is a wonderful accompaniment to the soft, fudgy center. This recipe is definitely a keeper!OATMEAL FUDGE BARS (from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)
MAKES 16 bars
Old-fashioned rolled oats may be substituted for the quick-cooking oats, although the bars will be more chewy.
CRUST AND TOPPING
1 cup (3 ounces) quick-cooking oats
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light brown sugar
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

FILLING
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed (1 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso or instant coffee (if using granulated instant coffee, dissolve into 2 teaspoons hot water and stir into the chocolate mixture after the egg)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg

1. FOR THE CRUST AND TOPPING: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling and grease the foil.
2. Whisk the oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of the oat mixture for the topping.
3. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.
4. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk the flour, sugar, instant espresso, and salt together in a medium bowl. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave, stirring often, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the egg until combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
5. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the filling evenly over the cooled crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the reserved oat topping. Bake the bars until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the filling begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
6. Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Black Raspberry Mazurkas (AKA Fruit & Oat Bars)

So.... This was a huge disappointment. I blame myself. I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sure it's not the recipe. I got the recipe from cakespy.com, and theirs looked insanely delicious! Any help would be greatly appreciated. *Whimpers* I'm so sad! I was looking forward to eating these chewy buttery bars!

This is how they look on cakespy!And this is mine... VERY brown. It tasted like burnt butter.

(Also it stuck to the pan... notice the patchwork on top.)The inside was nice. It tasted okay.

WHAT DID I DO WRONG? I followed the recipe exactly, except instead of apricot filling I used some leftover black raspberry jam. I took it out 5 minutes before the timer was finished. I think maybe I could've worked the butter into the dough too much. Any help from the peeps at cakespy??

This is the originial recipe:

POLISH WEDDING CAKES
These are called Mazurka in Polish. There are many versions, all rich and moist. This one has a crunchy crust and a tart apricot filling.

Makes 16 2-inch squares

Apricot Filling
4 ounces (about 24 halves) dried apricots
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar

1. Bring the apricots and the water to a boil, uncovered, in a small, heavy saucepan with a tight cover over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer until the apricots are very tender, about half an hour, depending on the apricots. The fruit should be very soft and the water should be partially but not completely absorbed.
   
2. Press the apricots with a potato masher or stir and mash vigorously with a fork. The mixture should be very thick. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Cool to room temperature. If you wish, this filling may be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

Polish Pastry
Note: this is not like American pastry. It will resemble a crumb mixture.

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 3/4 ounces (1/2 cup, firmly packed) shredded coconut
3/4 old fashioned or quick cooking (not "instant") oatmeal
2 ounces (generous 1/2 cup) walnuts, cut medium fine

1. Adjust an oven rack one-third up from the bottom and preheat oven to 325 degrees.


2. Place the Flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. With a pastry blender cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the coconut, oatmeal, and walnuts.
   
3. Place half (3 cups) of the mixture in an unbuttered 8-inch-square cake pan. Press it evenly with your fingertips. Cover with a piece of wax paper and with the palm of your hand press against the paper to make a smooth, compact layer. Remove the wax paper.
   
4. Spread the apricot filling smoothly over the pastry, staying 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the edges. Sprinkle the remaining pastry evenly over the filling and repeat the directions for covering with wax paper and pressing smooth. Remove the wax paper.
   
5. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until the top is barely semifirm to the touch.
   Cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so; be sure to cut around the sides to loosen from the pan before cutting and serving.